
I^AW« DESIGNS* AND 
SUGGESTIONS FOR 

SCHOOLHOUSES 



ISSVEO BY 



O. B. MARTIN 

state Superintendent of E^dtication, SotitH Carolina 

1003 



SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT 



LAW, DESIGNS, AND 
SUGGESTIONS FOR 

SCHOOLHOUSES 



ISSUED BY 

O. B. MARTIN 

State Superintendent of Education, South Carolina 



Columbia, S. C. 

THE STATE COMPANY 
1905 



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SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 



There are 2,654 buildings in South CaroHna in which 3,451 
teachers are engaged in teaching the white children of the State, and 
2,306 buildings in which the negro children of the State are being 
taught by 2,365 teachers. These figures include the town and city 
schools, where several teachers are working in the same building, 
so it is reasonable to estimate that there are 2,000 one-teacher schools 
for white children in the State, and almost as many for the other race. 

Circulation of such maxims as "The teacher makes the school," 
and "A Mark Hopkins at one end of a log and a James A. Garfield 
at the other will constitute a university," do positive harm when 
they are interpreted in any other way than to exalt the work of the 
teacher. Many communities depend too much on the teacher to 
make the school, the building, equipment and all. The modern idea 
requires that the "Mark Hopkins" and the "James A. Garfield" at 
once get off the log and take it to the sawmill, and proceed to erect 
a decent school building. 

Anyone who has any knowledge of the conditions will testify that 
while we have many valuable and well-equipped structures, yet there 
are hundreds of our school buildings which are almost worthless. 
The equipment, as a rule, is not sufficient for even a fair success 
with the great work attempted there. People will not patronize 
merchants who have uncomfortable, dingy, ill-furnished storehouses, 
nor do they accept accommodations in box cars when they ride on 
railroads ; and yet, when it comes to the training of children, they 
often risk the health, lives and character of their children in buildings 
which have but little more comfort or architectural beauty than a 
cheap barn or a box car. If we judge a man's business by his place 
of business, it is no wonder that our people are becoming dissatisfied 
with the average school building, its equipment and its environment. 
It is impossible to keep the best teacher in an uncomfortable, ill- 
fitted schoolhouse. Such a teacher will either get the people to 
improve the facilities, or resign and go to a community where there 
is .more enterprise and public spirit. The address of the State 
Superintendents to the people of the South uses this language : 
"Surely the house in which this sacred work of training the children 
of the Republic for citizenship and social service^ a work which has 



4 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 

to do with the mind, the soul and body, with the molding of char- 
acter and creation of ideals, should be a place worthy in all respects 
of such a work — a home, not a hovel ; a place of beauty, not a place 
of ugliness; a place of comfort, not a place of discomfort; a place 
of cleanness, not a place of uncleanness. About it the grass should 
grow green and the sun should shine bright, the flowers bloom and 
the birds sing, and the trees wave their long arms, that the children, 
while listening to the lessons taught by man and books, may receive 
also, from the potent silent influence of proper environment, the 
sweet messages of peace, and love, and culture, and beauty." 

The last session of the General Assembly passed an Act which 
I think will encourage the establishment of many new schoolhouses 
with better equipment. It provides that whenever the friends, 
patrons or trustees of a school raise funds for building a school- 
house by private subscription, special or regular tax, sale of old 
buildings, issuing bonds or otherwise, that the County Boards of 
Education shall aid them $50 for each $100 thus raised. No school 
is to receive more than $300 in this way. 

Under the provisions of this law sixteen school buildings of vary- 
ing costs and plans have been designed by Messrs. Edwards & 
Walter, architects, of Columbia, for the approval of the State Board 
of Education. These are issued to the trustees in this pamphlet, 
and all new schools which secure aid should be built according to 
an improved architectural design. 

Especial attention is called to the provision for levying a local tax 
in order to increase the school fund and secure proper buildings and 
equipment. These elections must be held before June ist, according 
to the law on that subject. About 400 out of 1,636 districts have 
a local tax. It pays a community to vote a local tax, because the 
people feel more interest in the school when it is improved by local 
initiative and co-operation. More than three-fourths of the money 
for schools throughout the United States is raised by local taxation, 
while in South Carolina less than one-fourth is raised that way. 
The people, in districts which have no local tax, have a great oppor- 
tunity for school improvement. If this opportunity is appreciated 
we shall make great progress during the next few years. A com- 
munity which has a poor school building and no local tax should 
act at once. The school building law also provides that County 
Boards of Education, in giving aid, "shall give preference to districts 
which have combined and consolidated two or more school build- 
ings." The Legislature has thus indorsed the consolidation of small 



SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 5 

schools. It does seem that the 2,000 one-room school buildings for 
white children might be rearranged and rebuilt, so that we might 
have, instead, less than 1,000 well-designed and well-built ones with 
two or more rooms. I am aware of the fact that in some sections, on 
account of bad roads and sparseness of population, consolidation is 
difficult. I am aware of the fact, also, that people become attached 
to a site after a schopl has been located there for some time. I am 
also familiar with the desire of many a prominent man in a com- 
munity to have a school near his home ; but notwithstanding all 
these, I think we need a concentration and a consolidation of re- 
sources and efforts. 

The strongest argument that I have heard in favor of consolida- 
tion is, wherever it is tried the people like it, and usually become its 
best friends and supporters when it is put into operation. 

The people in the northeastern part of Barnwell County decided to 
abolish two small schools and build a union school. After this was 
done the work was so much better that two more schools decided 
to join, making four in all. The accompanying cut shows the last 
action, when the first combination joined with the two other schools 
to form a larger consolidation. The new school has three teachers, 
more than a hundred children, a nice assembly hall, which serves for 
public meetings, lectures, etc., a library, patent desks, maps, globes 
and other equipment. The building will soon be painted. The 
teachers are all graduates of the leading colleges — teachers of expe- 
rience, and specialists in their departments. It is very easy to see 
that it is better for a child to come to such a school, even if he lives 
three or four miles away, than to go to an unfurnished, uncomfort- 
able, one-room school, where one teacher had to try to teach all of the 
branches from the primary to the college. 

REPORT ON CONSOLIDATION FOR HEALING SPRINGS SCHOOL. 

Before After 
Consolidation. Consolidation. 

Enrolment 100 102 

Average daily attendance 52 jo ' 

Number of teachers 3 3 

Average monthly salary of teachers $33 00 $50 00 

Value of schoolhouses $225 00 $2,500 00 

Value of equipment $25 00 $200 00 

Amount of funds raised by local taxation. . $50 00 $300 00 



8 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 

Before After 
Consolidation. Consolidation. 

Length of school term ..6 months 8 months 

Distance of farthest child from school. .. .2 miles 3 miles 

Distance of majority of children from school.! mile 1^4 miles 
Number of children more than two miles 

from school none 8 

Often I have heard patrons complaining that their children went 
to a school and only recited once or twice a day, and I have even 
heard them say that some days they did not recite at all. This was 
where there was only one teacher. I have never heard such a com- 
plaint from a consolidated school with special teachers for the 
primary, intermediate and advanced departments. 

Three schools in Anderson County, near the Pickens line, consoli- 
dated, and the appended table shows that hereafter they will have 
an eight- or nine-months session, with three teachers. They have 
been in session six months this year, even after they spent nearly 
$3,000 on the building aiid equipment. This is strictly a country 
community, being seven miles from any town or railroad. It illus- 
trates what can and ought to be done in hundreds of other com- 
munities. It will be noted that a large majority of the children are 
within two miles of the schoolhouse. The vast improvements in 
comforts, equipment and advantages will certainly repay those who 
are a little further from the consolidated school than they were from 
one of the small $100 schoolhouses. 

REPORT ON CONSOLIDATION FOR WALKER MCELMOYLE SCHOOL. 

Before After 
Consolidation. Consolidation. 

Enrolment 167 184 

Average daily attendance 90 98 

Number of teachers 5 3 

Average monthly salary of teachers. . . . $30 00 $43 80 

Value of schoolhouses $175 00 $2,500 00 

Value of equipment $75 00 $280 00 

Amount of funds raised by local taxation, .none $257 00 

Length of school term 4^ months 6 months 

Distance of farthest child from school ... 2 miles 314 miles 
Number of children more than two miles 

from - school none 26 

This school will run eisfht or nine months hereafter. 




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10 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 

At the Eastover School, in Richland County, the pupils who live 
some distance are brought together, at a small expense, with covered 
spring wagons or hacks, with seats on each side. When three or 
four schools are consolidated, enough money is usually saved in 
fuel, equipment, salaries, etc., to more than pay the expenses of con- 
pclidation. An interior view of this school shows a library, globes, 
maps, pictures, etc. 

The following are some of the advantages given by those who have 
consolidated their schools: (i) Better teachers, (2) better classi- 
fications, (3) better buildings, (4) better equipment, (5) greater 
interest and enthusiasm, (6) greater enrolment and attendance, 
(7) more economical use of funds, (8) more punctuality, (9) better 
supervision, (10) longer terms, (11) better health, because of 
better buildings, (12) richer course of study, with more high school 
features, (13) more special branches taught, (14) larger libraries, 
literary and debating clubs, (15) better sentiment and support. 

Since the Legislature enacted the rural library law, a little more 
than a year ago, about 500 libraries have been established in the 
schools of this State. This is not all that has been accomplished 
along this line, for the library work in the country schools has added 
impetus to city and college libraries. There has been something of 
a library movement in our State during the past few months. The 
establishment of a library in a country school often leads to other 
equipment. When a district makes one improvement, it is easier to 
get it to make another. A teacher and some large girl^ in a school- 
room once formed a sewing society. They made some nice, tidy 
white aprons, and gave one to a little girl whose environment at 
home was unattractive. When she went home her mother noticed 
that the apron was clean, and the other clothes, as well as the child, 
were dirty. So the mother used soap and water in order to produce 
harmony. Then she noticed that the other children were not in 
keeping with the little sister, so she used a liberal allowance of soap 
and water on them. Then she observed that the floor and windows 
needed attention, so she cleaned them. By and by the old gentleman 
came in and she saw that he did not match the rest of the family, 
so she used the soap and water on him. When he looked around 
he saw the changes, and was impressed that the outside of the 
house and the outbuildings did not harmonize with the inside, so he 
bought paint and lime. He painted the house and whitewashed the 
barn and fences. The neighbors saw the improvements and de- 
termined that they w'ould not be behind, so they painted their houses 




^ 






12 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 

and whitewashed their outbuildings. So it came about that the 
Httle white apron cleaned up the whole community. I believe, there- 
fore, in introducing some improvement into a school community, 
whether it be better teachers, a local tax, a new building, new desks, 
pictures, paint, or a library. The library case which has been put 
into the schools is, in itself, a beautiful piece of furniture, and it 
naturally calls for other improvements in the interest of harmony. 

The books which have been adopted for the libraries have been 
carefully selected. Educators in this and other States have strongly 
commended the list. Many of the books are especially suited to 
children, while quite a number have been selected with the view of 
helping the fathers and mothers. Several treat, in a very practical 
way, of agriculture, horticulture and stock raising. 

In enacting the school building law, as well as the library law, the 
General Assembly showed a desire to build up the common schools. 
If the people show their appreciation by taking advantage of these 
provisions, and by the manifestation of a strong determination for 
better public schools, I am confident the Legislature will enact other 
laws looking to the improvement of our school system. Greater ap- 
propriations will be made for our public schools as we strengthen 
our organization and perfect our system. I wish, therefore, to urge 
upon every community to take some forward step. We should have 
growth and progress all the time. A stagnant community and a 
dormant school do not furnish suitable conditions for the education 
of a growing, aspiring child. We cannot afford to stand idle while 
others are going forward. Many times have I heard good men say, 
''this school was good enough for me, and it is good enough for my 
child." Such men forget that if their advantages had been better, 
their success would have been greater. A man who lo^es his child 
desires to give it greater opportunities and privileges than he had. 
The times demand more. Thirty years ago the conditions were dis- 
couraging. Now there is hope. The communities and States which 
give most for education enjoy the greatest prosperity and secure the 
improvement of their citizenship. It can be proven by statistics that 
the wealth producing power of a State is directly dependent upon 
its educational advantages. What you put into the schools comes 
out in the life of the people. The patent office shows that those 
States which expend most on their schools have made the most in- 
ventions. We need more ingenuity, originality and thinking power. 
One idea is often worth more than a plantation. It is high time 




Case for Rural Libraries. 



14 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 

that we go about the education of our children in earnest. This is 
certainly the greatest business in which a people can engage, and yet 
we do not always go about it in a business way. Let us accomplish 
great things for the schools this year. The good results will be felt 
throughout the ages, but will be immediately beneficial to the devel- 
opment and prosperity of our State. 

O. B. MARTIN, 
State Superintendent of Education. 
April 22, 1905. 

N. B. — The designs and specifications for building schoolhouses, 
as shown in this pamphlet, were prepared by Messrs. Edwards & 
Walter, Architects, Columbia. S. C. Blue prints may be secured 
from them at a small cost. 



AN ACT TO ENCOURAGE THE ERECTION OF 
ADEQUATE PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 



Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 
Carolina : 

Section i. That the County Boards of Education of the various 
Counties of this State be, and the same are hereby, authorized to 
annually set aside, from the surplus remaining from the net income 
derived by the State from the dispensary profits, an amount equal 
to five per cent. of. the entire public school funds of their respective 
Counties, which said amounts shall be used by the said County 
Boards of Education for the purpose of encouraging and aiding in 
the construction of adequate public school buildings in their re- 
spective Counties. 

Sec. 2. That when the friends, patrons or Trustees of any public 
school in any school district in any County in this State shall raise 
by private subscription, special tax, regular tax, sale of old buildings, 
issuing bonds, or otherwise, funds for building a schoolhouse in 
such district, the County Board of Education of such County shall 
turn over to the Trustees of such school, from funds set aside for 
such purpose under this Act, fifty dollars ($50) for each one hundred 
dollars ($100) so raised by such friends, patrons or Trustees for 
constructing such school building: Provided, No one school shall 
receive more than three hundred dollars under the provisions of this 
Act : Provided, further, That no more than one school in any one 
district, in any one year, shall receive such aid. 

Sec. 3. That County Boards of Education shall give the preference 
to school districts Avhich have combined and consolidated two or 
more school buildings. 

Sec. 4. That any school district availing itself of the provisions of 
this Act shall comply with plans and specifications approved bv the 
State Board of Education. 

Sec. 5. That no school shall receive aid under the provisions of 
this Act without the approval of the County Board of Education. 

Sec. 6. That the funds provided for in this Act be paid out bv the 
County Treasurer only upon the warrant of the County Board of 
Education, countersigned by the County Superintendent of Educa- 
tion, and any funds not used by the end of the year shall revert 
back to the general school fund of the respective Counties. This 
Act to go into effect immediately on its approval. 



SCHOOL YARDS AND SCHOOLHOUSE ARCHI- 
TECTURE. 



SCHOOL SITE. 

In selecting a site, the size, soil, drainage, elevation and con- 
venience of approach should be considered. No school site ought to 
contain less than one acre, and two acres is none too large. The soil 
should be dry and porous and if not naturally, should be artificially, 
drained. The frontage should be about two-thirds of the depth of 
the lot. The site selected should be the brightest, most healthful, and 
most beautiful spot to be found near the center of the district. 
Natural beauty of surrounding should be secured if possible. A 
community cannot afford to sacrifice quality of soil, sightliness, ele- 
vation, and drainage to the single item of central location. The 
site should be elevated, but not on a bleak hill, the lot highest where 
the school building is located and gently sloping away from it. The 
house should be back of the center of the lot with the playground 
in the front, or it may be in front of the center with the playground 
in the rear. The best place for the woodhouse is in the rear of the 
schoolhouse, or at the side as circumstances permit. No trees should 
be within twenty feet of the school building. The area at the sides 
of the building should be reserved for flower gardens, and a row 
of trees be planted' around the lot. The land should be deeded in 
fee simple to the trustees of the district. 

OUTBUILDINGS. 

For rural schools the outbuildings should be located in the rear 
corners of the lot, and never side by side. For the average school 
they should not be more than six feet square and seven and one-half 
feet high, and should be thoroughly whitewashed inside and outside, 
and inclosed by a tight board fence seven feet high. The vault may 
be of cement or brick and open at the rear for convenience in clean- 
ing. Proper urinals should be provided in the boys' closet. The 
vault and urinals should be thoroughly cleaned at least twice each 
year and thoroughly dusted with dry coal ashes and chloride of lime. 

SCHOOL BUILDING. 

The foundation walls should be of brick or stone laid in cement, 
with ventilators on each of the four sides when there is no basement ; 



SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. ' 17 

these ventilators may be three-inch tile extending through the wall. 
The walls should extend three feet above the ground. In every case 
it would be highly advisable to have a basement under the entire 
building, which may be partitioned for a furnace room, a workshop 
and kitchen. A simple manual training outfit, costing from fifteen to 
twenty-five dollars, ought to be placed in the workshop, where the 
boys may learn the use of the common tools and often make ap- 
paratus for use in the school. A cook stove and a few kitchen 
utensils will give the teacher and the girls an opportunity for cooking 
warm dinners and gaining some wholesome lessons in domestic 
economy. This is practical education and can be secured at very 
small cost. The remainder of the room may be used for a play- 
room on stormy days. A table on which lunches may be spread 
should be built on one side of the playroom. This basement should 
be eight feet high, floored with cement. It would be an excellent 
plan to build in the walls of the schoolroom cupboards or cases with 
glass doors for books, specimens of various kinds, pioneer relics, and 
apparatus. 

The exterior of the building should be simple in construction and 
without unnecessary ornamentation. 

SIZE OF SCHOOLROOM. 

In general the width should be two-thirds or three-fourths of the 
length. A room 24x32 should be twelve feet high. Generally the 
height of a schoolroom should be more than eleven feet and less than 
fifteen feet. The schoolroom should be narrow from left to right of 
the pupil. 

The floor area should be sufficient to give each child not less than 
twenty square feet of surface. 

The teacher's desk should be at the side of the room which is not 
provided with windows. 

WINDOWS. 

All things considered, it is best to have a schoolhouse face the 
.south or west. In this way the windows may be on the east and 
north, or west and north sides, thus avoiding the glare of sunlight. 
The windows should be provided with opaque shades of a color to 
harmonize with the finish of the room. The windows should be 
grouped close together to avoid cross lights, and so far as possible 
be placed in the wall at the left of the pupils when seated. The 
rear window on this side should be near the rear wall and the front 



i8 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 

window opposite the front desks. The window should extend to the 
ceiHng and down to about three feet six inches above the floor. 
There may be windows in the rear wall when necessary. 

The area of glass in a schoolroom should be equal to one-fifth of 
the floor space; i. e., if the room is 24x32 there are 768 square feet 
in the floor, and there should be 153 square feet of glass in windows. 
Four windows seven and one-half or eight feet long, and three feet 
wide, should be grouped in the side wall ; and three of the same size 
in the rear. No windows should be placed where children must face 
them when seated at their desks. 

BLACKBOARDS. 

It is preferable to have all blackboards of slate, at least forty-two 
inches wide and placed on all the walls where there are no windows. 
In rural schoolhouses the lower edge of the board should be within 
twenty-eight inches of the floor. In grammar and high schoolrooms 
it should be about three feet from the floor. 

DESKS. 

Single adjustable desks should be furnished in all schoolrooms. 
The seat and back of the desk should fit the child's body and permit 
the feet to touch squarely on the floor. Seats of the same size should 
be placed in the same row, with aisles from thirty inches to three feet 
in width. 

At least three sizes of desks are needed in every rural schoolroom : 
No. 2 for the older pupils. No. 3 for intermediate and No. 5 for the 
young children. The desks for small children should be so placed 
that the edge of the desk in front of the child is nine inches from 
the back of his seat. For intermediate grades this space should be 
ten to eleven inches, and for higher grades twelve to thirteen inches. 
In the average schoolroom light-colored desks are preferable, as they 
harmonize easier with other furnishings. The cherry, or dark- 
colored desks should be used only in rooms that are very light. 

VENTILATION. 

In the single-room school buildings, a simple and effective mode of 
supplying fresh air is to have an air-tight galvanized iron, or other 
metallic conduit, extending from the outer air, where its openings 
are covered with strong wire netting, through foundation walls un- 
der the floor to beneath the stove, then up through the floor, closely 



SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 19 

connecting with the galvanized iron, or zinc jacket, surrounding the 
stove except for the fuel and draft entrances. 

This fresh air conduit should be large enough to supply 1,800 
cubic feet of air per hour to each occupant of the room, when the 
natural movement of the air is less rapid, that is when the tempera- 
ture of the outdoor air is only about ten degrees lower than that of 
the indoor air. The sizes of the flues for the supply of fresh air and 
the removal of vitiated air should be about the same, and should be 
determined by the number of persons who will occupy the room, 
and not by the cubical contents or floor space of the room. The 
minimum floor space of twenty square feet should be provided for 
each occupant. A room 24x32 feet should accommodate about forty 
persons ; and according to the standard just given, they would 
require a total of 72,000 cubic feet of fresh air per hour. These 
figures are in accordance with the plans of our best architects and 
health officers, but in a rural schoolroom, where the doors are fre- 
quently open and stand open during intermissions, a larger number 
of pupils can be safely seated in a room of the size indicated. As- 
suming the height of the ventilating shaft for this room, measured 
from the floor level of the room to the top of the shaft above roof, to 
be twenty-five feet, the fresh air and ventilating flues should be 
about thirty inches in diameter, if circular, or thirty-five inches 
square. 

The ventilating shaft must be warmed in order to be of much 
value, and for this reason it must be built in connection with the 
chimney. The smoke flue may be made of tile placed inside the 
ventilating shaft, or it may be built at one side, a thin partition 
between. The ventilating shaft should open into the room at the 
door by a register. If possible the opening from the shaft into the 
room should be made larger than the inside measurement of the 
shaft ; that is, from the shaft to the interior of the wall, the surface 
should slant outward, so that a register built in the wall is one-third 
larger than the area of the shaft, the register being thus wider than 
the shaft, and should not be over sixteen inches in width up and 
down. No register should be wider than this, because we desire to 
remove the lowest stratum of air, which is the coldest and most 
likely to obtain objectionable dust. In many localities, it would be 
just as cheap and much more effective to have a furnace instead of 
a stove, and in this case the ventilating shafts may be built the same 
as indicated above. 



20 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 

INTERIORS. 

In single-room buildings the halls should be at least eight feet 
square, and hallways in two- or three-room buildings should be suffi- 
ciently wide to admit two files of marching students. The wardrobes 
should be large enough to allow a separate hook for the wraps of 
each child. These rooms should be well ventilated, and warmed in 
the winter. 

The stairs should be from five to seven feet wide, according to 
the number of children and number of rooms ; the risers not less 
than five nor more than seven inches high, and the treads twelve 
inches wide. There should be as few turns as possible and the stair- 
case should be so arranged as to permit a teacher to command it from 
one position. 

In many instances we have fine looking school buildings on the 
outside, but when we go within we find improper lighting, no ventila- 
tion, poor heating facilities, and no attempt at wall decoration. 

The exterior should be as attractive as the means of the com- 
munity wall warrant, but it is much more important that attention 
be given to proper interior condition^. 

All woodwork should be plain, so as to afiford the least possible 
opportunity for accumulation of dust. The doors, wainscoting, 
and other wood work should be of oak, or hard pine, stained the 
proper shade of green, gray or brown; and finished with a coat of 
wax or varnish rubbed to remove the gloss. 

COLORS FOR INTERIOR. 

A pleasing interior depends more upon the coloring than upon 
any other single feature. The floor should be the darkest surface in 
the room, except the blackboards ; and the wainscoting, if it must 
be painted, should be several shades lighter than the floor. A good 
color for the wainscoting is produced by putting a small amount of 
raw sienna and chrome yellow with white paint, thus giving what 
painters call "cream white." The moldings and finishing board of 
wainscoting should be darker, or a light brown. 

The wall spaces not occupied by blackboard or wainscoting may 
be tinted a light cream, very light gray, blue gray, olive green or 
light bufif. In all cases the tints should be of the lightest and most 
delicate shades. A molding may be fastened to the wall, from 
which pictures may be hung. Above this band or molding the tint 
should shade from the wall color to that of the ceiling. 



SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 21 

All moldings and borders should be darker than the groundwork. 
If the walls must be papered, the same plan of shading should be ob- 
served. The ceiling should be a very delicate cream tint, light buff, 
or light green. The color of the walls should harmonize with the 
woodwork, either by analogy or contrast. The window shades 
should be of the same tint as the walls, or slightly darker. The 
harmony of color should be preserved with reference to the lighting 
of the room. If the light is strong, darker shades should be used. 
With a north or east light, "warm" colors, such as light cream or 
light orange, will give the impression of warmth to the otherwise 
cold blue of the air. 

This matter of finishing should receive the most careful study by 
architects and building committees, bearing in mind that trying 
colors, such as the strong tones of blue, and any hue of violet or red, 
should always be avoided. 

School officers should insist upon having the interior of the school- 
rooms properly arranged, tinted and decorated, and these matters 
should never be intrusted to a novice, nor should prejudice or econ- 
omy be permitted to work irreparable injury to the eyesight or health 
of the children. 



DESIGNS 

FOR 

SCHOOLHOUSES 




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Nu. 1. 

A Model One-Room Frame School Building. 

This is an excellent plan for a one-room school building, which 
may be built either with wood or brick. It has a large vestibule 
entrance with wardrobes adjoining on each side. The classroom is 
well lighted from the left and rear and may be heated with a stove 
or furnace. 




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No. 2. 



No. 2. 



Building No. 2 is practically identical with No. i in plan, differing 
mostly in the treatment' of the exterior, which is, perhaps, shghtly 
less expensive. This idea could be developed into a very pleasing 
and satisfactory building from every standpoint. 




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No. 3. 



No. 3- 

This one-room building has the merit of being very simple, but 
at the same time very well arranged, and it embodies every con- 
venience possible in a building of its size. The classroom is consid- 
erably larger than those of the preceding examples, and it is also 
well lighted. The larger teacher's closet may be used as a fuel 
room conveniently if desired. 




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No. 4. 



No. 4. 

A very neat little one-room building with one wardrobe. Tiie 
classroom is of good size and well lighted from the left and rear. 
Provision is also made for a bookcase to be built in as a permanent 
fixture. 



No. 5. 

This plan for a two-room building has man}' good features. Each 
classroom has a wardrobe adjoining, also a large closet which may 
be reserved for the teacher's personal use or to keep school supplies. 
This plan permits of building only the classroom on the left, together 
with its wardrobe and vestibule, at first ; the second classroom could 
be added when needed. If desired the partition between the class- 
rooms may be made a rolling partition, in order that the two rooms 
may be thrown into one large auditorium whenever necessary. 




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No. 6. 

This plan is very similar to No. 5 — in fact, it contains all of the 
characteristics of that building. The rooms are well lighted from 
the left and rear. The exterior design is very pleasing, and will 
make a decidedly satisfactory building both on the exterior and 
interior. If desired, the roof could be made higher and crowned 
with a cupola. 




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Xn. 7. 



No. 7. 

Building No. 7 contains two classrooms, which may be built with 
a rolling partition between, in order that they may be thrown to- 
gether, forming one large auditorium whenever necessary. 




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No. 8. 

This three-room building has each room so placed that it is prop- 
erly lighted from the left and rear of the pupil. It can be made a 
six-room building by adding another story and providing a stairway 
in the entrance hall, or a reverse plan of three rooms could be added 
on the left, making six rooms all on one floor. In this manner the 
building can be increased three rooms at each time until it contained 
twelve rooms, or nine rooms and a large auditorium. 




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No. 9. 

This is a splendid plan for a one-story four-room building, with 
one wardrobe for each classroom. It has spacious entrances from 
both the front and rear, and large central hall or rotunda. The front 
entrance is extended into a very pretty tower of simple but very 
effective design and which can be made to serve as a bell tower. 




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y^"/V>y^ Floor Plan. 
No. lo. 




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Second Floor Plan. 
No. lo. 




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No. lo. 



No. lo. 

Building No. lo is arranged with two classrooms on the first floor, 
with an auditorium on the second floor. This building can be 
doubled in size by building a reversed plan adjoining the hall on the 
left. An alternate plan of the second story divided into classrooms 
is also shown. 




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First Floor Plan. 
No. II. 




Second Floor Plan. 
No. II. 



No. II. 

Building No. ii is designed to be built of brick. It contains four 
classrooms of usual size and one large classroom or auditorium, also 
a teacher's room or school library. This building is designed to be 
heated with a furnace, and has every provision made for ventilation. 
The exterior is chaste and of simple line but good proportion. 




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No. 12. 

This plan for a four-room school building with auditorium on the 
second floor has been built for the Belton Mills, at BeIton,^S. C. ; 
The Pelzer Manufacturing Company, Pelzer, S. C. ; The F. W. Poe 
Manufacturing Company, Greenville, S. C. ; The Monarch Mills, 
Union, S. C, and the Victor Manufacturing Company, Greer, S. C. 
It is a very economical building, and for that reason it is extremely 
popular. 




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No. 13. 

This six-room brick school building has been built at Clinton, S. 
C, and also at Honea Path, S. C. It was designed with a view to the 
future addition of four rooms, two additional rooms on each floor, 
making it ultimately a ten-room building. Its plan as enlarged 
would be identical with plan of No. 14, which follows. The build- 
ing has a basement with furnace and fuel rooms. Play rooms could 
also be incorporated if desired. 




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No. 14. 

This plan is identical with No. 13, except that it has ten rooms and 
the exterior is of different design in the middle portion. This build- 
ing was built at Walhalla, S. C. 







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No. 15. 

This building, containing six classrooms and a beautiful audi- 
torium, was built at Laurens, S. C, for the Laurens and Watts Mills, 
and is known as the "Mills School." The second floor contains a 
superintendent's office, supply rooms and toilet rooms. The arrange- 
ment is all that could be desired from an economic and hygienic 
standpoint, and every convenience is embodied. .The exterior walls 
are of brick and stucco, and in design it is one of the most beautiful 
school buildinsrs in South Carolina. 



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No. i6. 

This is an ideal eight-room school building. It was built in Illi- 
nois and has a large auditorium in the ample space afforded by the 
high roof. The auditorium is well lighted by dormer wiiidows. The 
second floor has an office for the principal. The basement contains 
playrooms for boys and girls, also furnace and fuel rooms. 



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